1980 brought Rankin-Bass' first attempt to adapt classic literature as a Christmas special, this time being Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, taking several episodes from the book and giving them a Christmas slant as Pinocchio's Christmas. Jules Bass adapted the story as Julian P. Gardner (the wikis say Romeo Muller, but I'm going with the credit in the special).
The special doesn't take too much from other popular adaptations, though it's easy to see some design similarities between it and Disney's Pinocchio (Pinocchio wearing a similar hat and vest with a short sleeved shirt, Geppetto having a mustache and small glasses with an apron). Otherwise, it does a fine job of distinguishing itself totally from other versions. Interestingly, Rankin-Bass' first television series was titled The New Adventures of Pinocchio and offered modern adventures for the famous puppet. However, this version is not a continuation or follow up to that series, placing Pinocchio back in his regular time period.
Pinocchio (voiced by Todd Porter) sees his first snow during his first Christmas. Geppetto, the woodcarver who created him and acts as his father (voiced by George S. Irving), explains Christmas to his wooden son and presents him with an arithmetic book he sold his boots to buy. However, Pinocchio sells the book to buy a present for his father, but is then tricked into burying the money in the snow to grow a tree that'll bear many coins by the Fox and the Cat (voiced by Allen Swift and Pat Bright, respectively), who of course steal the coins and tell him it didn't work because he's been bad and the coins must have disappeared.
In need of money and worse off than when he started, Pinocchio joins a puppet show run by Maestro Fire-Eater (voiced by Alan King), but becomes smitten with a puppet named Julietta. When he hears that she's to be made over into a Magi for a Nativity show, Pinocchio runs off with her to the Enchanted Forest where the tree he was made from grew. While there, he tells her of his backstory, how the piece of wood he was made from was originally going to be firewood, but wound up being given to Geppetto, who made him into a puppet to sell, but when it came to life, he kept him as his son.
The Fox and Cat appear and try to sell Pinocchio on another scheme, but they're interrupted by a blue light that takes Pinocchio and Julietta to the realm of Lady Azura, the fairy with the blue hair (voiced by Diane Leslie). Lady Azura asks Pinocchio what happened, and he concocts a lie that makes his nose grow. When he tells her the truth, she says he hasn't been bad but simply foolish, and that she'll take Julietta, while she reunites him with Dr. Cricket (voiced by Bob McFadden), who previously lived in Geppetto's home but left when Pinocchio threw a hammer at him.
Meanwhile, Fire-Eater creates a puppet replica of Pinocchio to perform in his show, but it's only a puppet and proves a flop, so he throws it in the street, where Geppetto finds it and believes it to be his boy, somehow lifeless now.
The Fox and Cat find Pinocchio again and convince him to go teach Santa Claus' toys how to dance. (He fantasizes about it with a catchy song simply called "Dancin'.") He's instead thrown into a box and taken to a Duke (voiced by Paul Frees) to be given to his children as a Christmas present. However, they're unimpressed that their father thinks presents—no matter how lavish—will replace him actually spending Christmas with them. Pinocchio convinces him to stay with his family.
Stepping outside, Pinocchio and Dr. Cricket are given a lift home by none other than Santa Claus (voiced by Paul Frees). Geppetto is overjoyed that his son has returned, and they welcome Lady Azura and a now alive Julietta to share a simple Christmas breakfast of oatmeal with them. Lady Azura tells Pinocchio of his future (which will be familiar to anyone familiar with many versions of his story) with the assurance that if he tries to be good, someday, he will be a real boy.
This was interesting, re-contexualizing a literary adaptation with a holiday theme, and surprisingly, it works pretty well, though it would've been better had this been sandwiched with at least two other specials to adapt more of the story. It made for a fun special, but I can't help but feel making it Pinocchio might've limited the interest in it. People might see it as a Disney knockoff and avoid as they prefer that version. Plus there's the uncanny element of a story about a puppet being depicted in a medium in which everyone is a puppet.
I'd say this was very entertaining, and there's certainly worse items to squeak into a Christmas special lineup, but there's a lot of competition out there.
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